A police force has been ordered to release the identities of every officer serving in a Highland town at the time of a young man's unexplained death more than 10 years ago.

Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion yesterday directed Northern Constabulary to make public the names of all 29 police officers serving in Wick when Kevin McLeod died in 1997.

The move follows a ruling by Mr Dunion that the force's Chief Constable, Ian Latimer, had failed to comply with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act in withholding the names.

Mr Latimer is required to release the information within 45 days, but the force is currently considering its right of appeal.

The body of Mr McLeod, 24, an electrician, was recovered from the water of Wick Harbour by police divers on a Saturday morning in February 1997. He was last seen the previous evening in a nightclub in the town.

His parents, June and Hugh McLeod, and his uncle Allan McLeod - who remain convinced he had been in an argument with a man and was beaten before ending up in the harbour - have consistently rejected the police explanation of accidental death.

A fatal accident inquiry in 1998 returned an open verdict and the family has challenged the police's conduct in the case ever since.

In November, the force was criticised by Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland, Jim Martin, for its "institutional arrogance" in the way it had handled complaints from the McLeod family about the investigation.

Last year the family applied for the names of all officers serving in Wick at the time. Northern Constabulary initially refused, then released the names of senior officers.

The force argued that the information was personal data and to give out all the names could lead to officers being harassed or confronted.

But Mr Dunion was not persuaded. In his ruling, he said: "Northern Constabulary's submissions and supporting evidence have drawn the commissioner's attention to concerns about past behaviour and potentially minor recent harassment.

"This is not sufficient to persuade the commissioner that disclosure of the information would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual."

Kevin's uncle Allan McLeod welcomed the ruling, saying: "Having a legitimate interest with the circumstances surrounding Kevin's death and the flawed investigations undertaken by Northern Constabulary, Kevin's family have an interest in obtaining the identities of officers based at Wick police station over the requested period.

"Therefore, this latest decision is yet another victory in our quest to expose the skullduggery that we suspect has existed within this case."

Northern Constabulary said it was disappointed by the ruling which it was considering and was taking legal advice.